Michael (New Zealand) on 11/24/2016

Many, many moons ago I was a navigator in the Navy and we would trade all over the World, which was all very interesting and character building. But it came with a few problems that, as a young fellow, I was unprepared for (like life generally, with all it's attendant vicissitudes as I recall! ).... One was the great difficultly in those far-off primitive times (1960s) of being able to take away on a voyage, suitable footwear for use on the boiling-hot, steel decks in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian and Red Seas. Doing duty on those red-hot decks was a torture anyway but the soles of our shoes would melt and stick to the deck (I jest not). So I thought I was very smart to find a very scarce pair of rope-soled shoes in an Arabic Bazaar for my size ten, clod hoppers and wore those during any day duty on deck for the rest of the LONG voyage (we were often away for many months at a time with no access to the shops you understand). You understand? Well, that solved one problem and created another one! Isn't that often the way!

My legs were killing me and I did not realise for a long time that it was because, having grown up wearing shoes with heels all my life, these rope-soled shoes were having this effect on my legs. I was not an Earth Clinic reader then of course and there were no computers. It took a while to sink in that it was the dam shoes! I did remember that our Family Witch Doctor had accused me of being a bit "flat footed" and cast a spell to make me roll big marbles under the soles of my feet, presumably to improve my arches! He made me walk along a beam to improve my gait also. I thought he was mad but he was probably a genius in disguise. Once I reverted to heeled shoes the problem "went away" in a few days. No medicines taken (or even available! ). The point is that we were living in a self-contained "bubble" on this vessel, so all the other possible factors/variables were controlled for. We led a simple, monastic life where choices in lifestyle on board were restricted. I still took the salt tablets that we were issued with in the tropics and the officers' steward still doled out the daily ration of lime juice in a carafe every day without fail. We drank lots of water (but probably not enough! ).

Of course such an apparently (to a young lad) small change in posture has the potential to throw many parts of our skeleton out of balance with its potential for consequential mischief. If one has one leg longer than the other by MORE than a few millimetres OR one's pelvis is twisted in any way, or you have a mis-alignment of the spine, a top notch Osteopath OR Acupuncturist could do sterling service for you. I prefer them to Chiropractors actually. Muscle and skeletal maladjustment problems are rife out there and people could be suffering for nothing sometimes. " 'Tis a pity to be sure" as the Irishman famously once said. Just remember the well worn adage:-

"Life could be sweet, if you would only take care of your feet! "

Oh, jolly well done if you have managed to stick with me this far.

Cheers, Michael